Dead tramper named

Police have named the 38-year-old man whose body was
recovered from the Cascade Saddle yesterday.

He was Frank Spychalski, from Steigertsbraun, Germany.

Mr Spychalski died after apparently falling about 200m from
near the top of the Cascade Saddlein the Mount Aspiring
National Park.

Police recovered the man's body yesterday after an aerial
search of the area.

Acting Search and Rescue (SAR) co-ordinator Senior Constable
Mike Johnston, of Wanaka, said a friend of the deceased
contacted police on December 23 to report the man was overdue
from a tramp which he started on November 29.

''The deceased has fallen on a snow patch very near the top
of the climb. He has been unable to stop his fall and slid
down the snow and over the edge of a ridge into a near
vertical gully, stopping approximately 200m below,'' Snr
Const Johnston said.

''This area of the Cascade Track has had previous
fatalities.''

The recovery was conducted by members of Wanaka LandSAR,
Alpine Cliff Rescue, Wanaka police and Aspiring Helicopters.

Snr Const Johnston said the Cascade Track was a steep and
challenging ''poled'' route over the Cascade Saddle which had
a high level of risk and required a high level of skill.

Police will publicly identify the man once his family in
Germany has been contacted.